Saturday, January 27, 2024

Kooser 2024

My grandchildren, Avery and Jesse.  The best part about
traveling to Pennsylvania for my annual ski trip is
seeing these kids!
Our ski group has been renting a cabin at Kooser State Park, Somerset, PA since about 2007.  The cabin is our base for skiing the local trails and lifts at Seven Springs.

Great skiing with snow on Friday and
cold weather on Saturday and
Sunday.

This year the snow was excellent and the temps stayed cold, so the skiing was great.  Yet still, the camaraderie was even better!

Many folks from DhBoss, the sailing group based at Moraine State Park, have joined the crew skiing at Kooser/Seven Springs.  And this year, many non-skiers came out just to enjoy a mid-winter visit with their sailing buddies.

While a couple other years have had
more snow, this year was more than most.

The woods around our cabin.

Along the road over the mountain 
traveling from the cabin to Seven Springs.

Seven Springs

Most of the folks around this table weren't even skiing,
they came to the Foggy Goggle to visit their
DhBoss (Davis Hollow Boat Owners Sailing Society)
skiing friends.

DhBoss!

And the sailors can't help pulling out
the charts and sea stories.

Murph, all buttoned up for the cold,
snowy day on the slopes.

Erik and Sean begin
preparations for the 
Saturday evening steak dinner.

Sean cuts the steaks
from the huge hunk of
meat he brought us.

Great steaks!
After the big steak dinner, the cabin crew joined the
crowd at Jen's condo for even more goodies.


Sean created this sign.

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Space Coast Wildlife

Back on the Space Coast of Florida, we spent time looking for more wildlife.

All the better photos were taken by Jada.






This fellow was minding his own business at 
pondside as Jada & I were walking by, about
fifty feet away.  When Jada suddenly noticed he was there,
she immediately grabbed me and forcefully
pushed me between her and the gator!  😄


While looking for manatees,
Jada saw this dolphin.
Unfortunately, we missed seeing
manatees due to the cool weather.

At the Cape Canaveral National Seashore.


Black Point Wildlife Drive

Black Point Wildlife Drive

Black Point Wildlife Drive

Black Point Wildlife Drive

Black Point Wildlife Drive


Black Point Wildlife Drive


Black Point Wildlife Drive



Another walk, but no wildlife



Sunday, January 14, 2024

Clarcona Horse Park

At the Clarcona Horse Park
Our campground near Orlando was a county park, the Clarcona Horse Park.  It proved to be close to some springs we planned to visit as well as close enough to enjoy a concert in downtown Orlando.

A visit to Magnolia Park provided a flock of pheasants.

Jada caught these pics of an osprey at
King's Landing on the Wekiva River.

At Kelly Park


Rock Springs at Kelly Park

Rock Springs at Kelly Park

Rock Springs at Kelly Park

Rock Springs at Kelly Park
Rock Springs at Kelly Park

Wekiwa Springs State Park

Wekiwa Springs State Park

We had a great trip kayaking along the Wekiwa River.
Click Here to see the wonderful flora and fauna
of Wekiva State Park.


Many of the trees had these air plants
growing in their branches.

At the Clarcona Horse Park


At the Clarcona Horse Park

At the Clarcona Horse Park


At the Clarcona Horse Park






This was a fun spot for happy hour,
before heading into town for the concert.

The view from Grill's Tiki Bar.




These pretty tiles were in the restrooms at Grill's.




Judy Collins provided a terrific concert
at the Plaza Theater in Orlando.
Click Here for pics and vids.